Margaret Garlick, 65, flew to Thailand and used the photos to see what 31-year-old Debbie Evans, from Camberley, saw before the giant wave struck the resort of Khoa Lak where she was on holiday with her boyfriend.

It was 11 months after the 2004 Boxing Day devastation when the roll of camera film was discovered and returned to Mrs Garlick by the Thai authorities.

Amazingly the film survived the floods and she was able to develop the pictures, which showed her daughter enjoying the paradise island of Phi Phi.

Debbie, who lived with her boyfriend in the town and was a lettings agent manager in nearby Wokingham, went missing like so many other victims after the wave struck.

Family and friends held out hope she would be found alive and the brother and brother-in-law of her boyfriend flew out to find them.

But they returned with no news of the couple.

Four months later her body was found and flown back to Britain for a memorial service in Farley Hill near Reading, where Debbie grew up.

Mrs Garlick, who now lives in Wellington Heath in Herefordshire, said the seemingly normal holiday snaps show the couple's memorable moments from their trip and meant Margaret could visit the same places.

“Because of the photographs I have walked where she walked and seen what she saw,” Mrs Garlick said.

She had made plans to visit Thailand before the film was returned, along with some of Debbie's other possessions.

“It was totally unexpected,” she said.

“The police phoned up one day and said they had got some of Debbie's belongings and could they bring them round.

“I was away at the time but my husband saw the film. He knew how important it was and that it would contain the last few moments of Debbie's life.

“He took it to the local chemist for their hour processing and said it was the longest hour of his life.”

Mrs Garlick said it was difficult to describe the feelings she had when she saw the pictures.

“It is hard to explain what I felt, it was just unbelievable. In other ways I suppose it was very fortunate,” she added.

“We were able to identify the pictures of her on the beach and certainly on the beach where her hotel was.

“We did walk along that beach and put flowers in the sea.

“It is only since I've been back that I have realised that we were fortunate to retrace her footsteps — with hindsight we have realised how lucky we were.”

Before her trip Mrs Garlick rallied round friends and family in order to raise money to take as a donation to the locals affected by the tsunami.

While in Thailand, she put the money toward the cost of three new fishing boats for those who lost everything during the disaster.

She added: “I had talked to survivors and heard how wonderful the Thai people were to them.

“They gave what little they had and it's really to thank them for the help they have given to others and to leave a legacy out there in her name.”